Health experts call for alcohol marketing inquiry

ASHLEY HALL: Health experts meeting at Parliament House in Canberra have called on the Federal Government to establish an inquiry into alcohol marketing. The Australian Medical Association, which organised the summit, says alcohol marketing to young people is at an unprecedented level with industry embracing new platforms such as social media.

The AMA says the voluntary self regulation of marketing has failed. But the industry disagrees. It says the regulatory system for advertising is robust, and already covers social media.

Brendan Trembath reports.

BRENDAN TREMBATH: The companies which sell Australia's best known alcohol brands are all tapping into social media. More than 40,000 Facebook users have clicked a thumbs up icon to show they like the official Facebook site of one beer brewed in Australia for over 150 years.

Fans are encouraged to post beer related photos and videos.

(Extract from Facebook page)

FACEBOOK MEMBER: This is the latest addition to my VB collection, the VB vending machine, absolutely brilliant. I'll show you how it works.

BRENDAN TREMBATH: He's an adult enjoying a beer and fair game for alcohol advertisers. But health experts are concerned about the impact of alcohol marketing on teenagers and young adults.

The Australian Medical Association has hosted a summit at Parliament House in Canberra. AMA president Steve Hambleton.

STEVE HAMBLETON: We had industry experts; we had the police, law-enforcement bodies, youth associations. And the presentations were really, really very strong, the room was full.

The energy was there the parliamentarians heard the message and it's very important that they do because we need to support our parents to actually do something about the exposure of our young people to alcohol advertising and marketing.

BRENDAN TREMBATH: What's the main thing you want from government?

STEVE HAMBLETON: First thing we want from government is an analysis of what's going on, so let's have a look at the advertising, the promotion, let's look at these marketing techniques and these new platforms - the digital platforms and the social media.

Let's find out how much is going into the bedrooms and onto the computers that our kids are looking at.

SAM BIONDO: It's very important to consider the issue but in terms of social marketing, using Twitter and Facebook and all the rest of it - we do think the genie is out of the bottle, so to speak. It's a very complex area to monitor.

BRENDAN TREMBATH: Key voices in the alcohol industry don't want to see more regulations.

Denita Wawn heads the Brewers Association of Australia and New Zealand.

DENITA WAWN: We have a robust regulatory system of codes that oversee alcohol advertising that includes social media and has been actually subject to a number of decisions of our independent complaints panel in recent months.

BRENDAN TREMBATH: She says certain social media sites have age restrictions.

DENITA WAWN: There is age-gating and so forth that you can utilise to ensure that only people over the age of 18 access these sites.

If people under 18 are accessing they shouldn't be so, they've obviously have put incorrect information of their Facebook page and that is parental responsibility to ensure there is appropriate usage of social media.

BRENDAN TREMBATH: Professor Mike Daube from Curtin University doesn't agree. He's the director of the McCusker Centre for Action on Alcohol and Youth.

MIKE DAUBE: They're living in cloud cuckoo land if they believe that. Currently there are these notional tabs that you fill in on websites that say you're aged over 18 and you get in. A six-year-old can fill those in.

YouTube, Facebook - there is simply no way currently that one can curb young peoples' access to that short of effective regulation. Curbing what the companies themselves do.

BRENDAN TREMBATH: Facebook Australia says no one was available for an interview. But it says they are in discussions with the Australian Medical Association.